Unit 15 Shopping

Unit 15 Shopping

Pick up to buy, to purchase

             GRAMMAR/USAGE NOTES: This idiom is separable. It is often used for shopping briefly at a grocery store or supermarket.

             ▪ Could you go to the store quickly and pick up some milk? We don’t have any more.

             ▪ I picked a few things up at the supermarket on my way home from work.

Pick out to select, to choose

             GRAMMAR NOTE: The idiom is separable.

             ▪ I tried to pick out the larger, riper apples in the produce section.

             ▪ Sheila asked her mom to go with her to pick some new clothes out.

On sale at a reduced cost

             ▪ By buying things when they’re on sale, it’s possible to save a lot of money.

             ▪ I asked the clerk, “Do these expensive watches ever go on sale?”

hunt for bargains to look for the cheapest prices

             related form: bargain-hunter (noun)

             ▪ The week after Christmas is the best time to hunt for bargains.

             ▪ Bargain-hunters like to shop in thrift stores such as the Family Discount Chain.

Shop around to check further on cost, quality, and so on before buying

             Also: look around

             ▪ I shopped around at several stores before finding the refrigerator I wanted.

             ▪ My wife asked me, “Shouldn’t we look around more before deciding what to get?”

window-shop to look at merchandise in stores without buying anything

             also: go window-shopping

             ▪ It’s fun to get together with a friend and window-shop.

             ▪ When Carol doesn’t have extra money, she loves to go window-shopping.

Buy up to buy all available items

             Also: snap up

             ▪ Just before the hurricane, people bought up all the bottled water in the stores.

             ▪ On the day of the big sale, all the best items were snapped up first.

Raincheck a receipt to purchase an unavailable sale item later at the sale price

             USAGE NOTE: When a business sells all of a particular sale item, it offers rainchecks to customers so that they can buy the item when it becomes available later, still at the sale price.

             ▪ Umberto asked the cashier for a raincheck because the sale item he wanted was all gone.

             ▪ Could I please have a raincheck for a ten-pound bag of dog food at half price?

Stock up (on) to purchase extra amounts for later use

             Also: load up (on)

             ▪ Department stores always stock up on gift items before Christmas.

             ▪ After experiencing a serious oil shortage years ago, oil companies are careful to stock up.

             ▪ People who live in very cold places load up on firewood before winter arrives.

Take back to return merchandise to a store

             Also: bring back

             GRAMMAR/USAGE NOTES: Both idioms are separable. Take back is generally used when talking outside the store, bring back when talking inside the store.

             ▪ Louie couldn’t take back the jacket he bought because it was on sale.

             ▪ Can I bring this compact disc player back if I’m not satisfied with it?